Michigan
18-4, 6-4Big Ten
Minnesota
18-4, 8-2Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 21 | 21 | 21 | 0 |
| Michigan | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Michigan Earns Upset Sweep of No. 11 Minnesota
10/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Result: #20 Michigan 3, #11 Minnesota 0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-21)
Records: U-M (18-4, 6-4 Big Ten), Minnesota (18-4, 8-2 Big Ten)
Attendance: 861
Next U-M Event: Friday, Oct. 31 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), 7 p.m. CDT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 20-ranked University of Michigan volleyball finished off its first weekend conference sweep of the year, taking out No. 11-ranked Minnesota in three sets (25-21, 25-21, 25-21) on Saturday night (Oct. 25) in Cliff Keen Arena. Junior Juliana Paz (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) led the upset with 16 kills, while senior Beth Karpiak (LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) added 10 and freshman Sloane Donhoff (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) recorded a game-high 17 digs and two services aces.
Sloane Donhoff
In the opening frame, Michigan jumped on top quickly on a service ace by Donhoff to start the match. After Minnesota forced a pair of ties early on, Michigan started to pull away, building a 15-8 lead on back-to-back kills by sophomore Lexi Zimmerman (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) and Karpiak. The Wolverines were undaunted following a Minnesota timeout and went up 22-15 on Donhoff's second ace of the set. The Gophers put up a fight in the final stretch, pulling within three points, 24-21, before an attack error ended their run and gave U-M a 25-21 victory.
In set two, Michigan again raced out to the early lead, 7-3, only to see Minnesota pull back within four, 14-10, midway through the set. Michigan pushed the lead back to seven points, 19-12, thanks to a Paz kill and pair of Gopher attack errors. With Michigan up 20-12, Minnesota went on a 6-3 run to close the gap to four, 22-16. From there Michigan put the Gophers away as U-M earned its final three points on Minnesota service errors for a 25-21 win. Paz had the hot hand in the set with seven kills, while Zimmerman dished out eight assists and posted six of Michigan's 17 digs in the set.
Set three saw the Gophers get in front for the first time, building a 7-3 lead, forcing Michigan into a timeout. Out of the break, Michigan was able to regain its form from the first two sets, eventually tying the score 13-13 on a service ace by senior Kerry Hance (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) and a kill by Paz. The score remained close until Michigan used a 5-1 run to take a 23-19 lead and go on to the 25-21 victory.
Michigan will be back in action Friday night (Oct. 31) when it travels to Champaign, Ill., to face Illinois on Halloween night at 7 p.m. CDT at Huff Hall.
NOTES
• Michigan's 3-0 win over Minnesota on Saturday night marked its first weekend sweep in Big Ten play this season and just the second straight-set loss for the Gophers this year. Minnesota's only other 3-0 defeat came at the hands of No. 1-ranked Penn State.
• Michigan has now taken three of the last four meetings against the Golden Gophers.
• Michigan defeated Minnesota despite hitting just .181, marking only the second time Michigan has overcome a sub-.200 hitting percentage to win this season. The only other time U-M has overcome that obstacle was in the Big Ten opener at Ohio State in a 3-1 win on Sept. 24.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Mark Rosen
On the key to defeating Minnesota ... "I thought we came out and executed our game plan really well tonight. We served very tough. I thought we played great defense and were steady inside on offense. Our goal is to be above 60 percent on side-out and we did that. I am proud of the way our team came out and battled tonight."
On the play of Juliana Paz ... "I think she was highly motivated and very focused to be a dominant factor in this match tonight and obviously she was."
On overcoming the low hitting percentage ... "I think some of that is attributed to the high attempts. Both teams were playing great defense tonight and that equates to the higher number of swings and thus the lower percentage. But it is nice to see us be able to keep battling through a great defensive team and come out on top."
On the service game ... "We knew we had to serve tough and limit their offense. We were hitting our spots really well tonight, and that was a big key because it puts us at an advantage right away. The credit goes to the team for executing it."
On a Big Ten weekend sweep for the first time this year ... "It was something that the girls talked about after last night's win. They wanted to get on the track where we weren't just splitting on the weekend. I give them the credit. They set the goal and they achieved it."
